


A Day to Remember

by innerslytherin



Series: The Fifth Year [27]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-04
Updated: 2010-07-04
Packaged: 2017-10-10 09:34:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/98196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/innerslytherin/pseuds/innerslytherin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave and Emily host a Memorial Day picnic for his family and the team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Day to Remember

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [](http://severity-softly.livejournal.com/profile)[**severity_softly**](http://severity-softly.livejournal.com/) for the beta. Thanks to [](http://resolucidity.livejournal.com/profile)[**resolucidity**](http://resolucidity.livejournal.com/) and [](http://nebula99.livejournal.com/profile)[**nebula99**](http://nebula99.livejournal.com/) for providing additional information. ;) I have storylines to wrap up, so the series continues. I will be wrapping it up this summer, however.

  
Memorial Day started out with Emily throwing up. Again. Dave hovered, worried about her, but Emily just burrowed under the covers and promised she would get up in time to shower and meet his family.

They'd both spent the day before in the kitchen, getting potato salad and pasta salad and two pies and all kinds of things ready for the picnic. Dave would be grilling. JJ and Garcia had both promised to bring desserts. Derek had an ice cream maker that he said would be fun for the kids, and Hotch was bringing some kind of entertainment for the kids too.

Around ten-thirty Emily finally dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. She had to sit down while shaving her legs, but aside from feeling exhausted, she was better. When she was dressed and had her hair pulled back, she wandered downstairs. Dave was fussing around in the kitchen and made her some toast and tea.

Emily smiled and kissed his cheek. "I love you so much," she murmured, and was pleased when he put his arms around her and held her close.

At eleven-thirty their first guests arrived. Emily swallowed hard as she saw the cream-colored Buick pull into the drive. Dave's parents, of course. But maybe it would be best to get the most nerve-wracking meeting out of the way first. Emily checked her makeup in the mirror and went to open the door. Dave came up behind her, sliding an arm around her waist as they watched his parents coming up the walk.

Elena Rossi was a short woman with gorgeous silver hair. Leo, walking behind her, was tall and broad-shouldered, the image of how Dave would look in thirty years. Emily felt a surge of panic in her stomach. She smiled and held out a hand.

Elena took her hand and pulled her in for a hug and kisses on both cheeks. "I am so very pleased to meet you, Emily. Davey, she is beautiful." She hugged Emily again before releasing her to shake Leo's hand.

Leo's smile came as easily as Dave's. "You've been good for Dave," he told her. "Welcome to the family."

Emily laughed nervously. "You can already tell?" she asked. "Um, thank you."

Leo's smile broadened. "I can tell by the way he talks about you," he said, putting an arm around Emily's shoulders as Dave led them back into the house.

It was amazing how comforting it felt to have Leo's arm around her. He felt like a father ought to feel, strong and secure and accepting. Emily smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek before pulling away to go in the front door.

They had a little time to sit around the kitchen table with coffee--everyone drinking the good stuff except Emily, who was still staying decaffeinated--before people started arriving. By noon, though, nearly everyone was there, except Hotch and Reid.

***

"Will you quit being so stubborn?" Spencer was talking to the closed door, but then he hadn't had much chance to actually talk to Aaron's face this morning. His stomach felt knotted with frustration, and he knew Jack was in his room singing loudly and off-key to drown out the sound of Aaron and Spencer's argument. They were trying to keep it quiet, but Spencer had witnessed too many parental arguments to believe Jack didn't know what was going on.

"I'm not being stubborn. I'm being careful." Aaron's voice was muffled.

"You're being ridiculous!" Spencer caught his voice as it rose, then he leaned against the door and tapped softly. "Aaron, will you at least let me in so I can look at you while we argue?"

He heard a sigh, then the door opened. Aaron's face was covered in shaving cream and he was so incredibly adorable that Spencer felt like hugging him instead of arguing. But he was annoyed and hurt and he wasn't going to give in.

"I don't understand," Aaron said, "why you're arguing about this at all."

Another pang of hurt went through Spencer, but he shook his head. "Look, it's important to me. Maybe it's stupid. But this is a social event and I want to go with the people I love. No one on the team will be surprised, so why are we even pretending to hide this?"

Aaron's gaze softened. "Spencer..." He reached out and brushed his fingers against Spencer's shoulder, but Spencer stiffened and pulled away.

"Don't." Spencer's throat felt tight. "Are you ashamed?"

Aaron sucked in a breath, his gorgeous dark eyes widening. "No," he said instantly. "No. God, Spencer, is that what you think?" He gripped both Spencer's shoulders, not letting him pull away again. "_Never_."

Their gazes locked, and Aaron's never faltered. Spencer wasn't good at trusting people. He knew that. But he'd always trusted Aaron before, and Aaron had never let him down. Aaron wouldn't let him down in this, either. Spencer nodded.

Aaron let go of him long enough to grab a towel and wipe the shaving cream off. He'd barely gotten started, and Spencer's heart thudded at the site of Aaron looking so scruffy. Then Aaron's arms were around him, Aaron's cheek against Spencer's. In the sudden quiet, Spencer could hear Aaron's breathing, then distinctly he heard Jack singing, "Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes! La la la pick your nose, pick your nose!"

Aaron started laughing, his arms tightening around Spencer. "Where did he learn that?"

"Probably from that red-headed boy on the playground," Spencer said, grinning. "I think I've heard them singing it together."

Aaron snorted. "Obviously a bad influence." He pulled away. "All right," he said. "You win. We'll drive together to the cookout. But if Dave has exhibited extremely bad judgment and invited Strauss, I'm blaming you for getting us reprimanded by the Office of Professional Responsibility."

Spencer's heart leapt and he grinned more widely at his lover. "Good," he said. "And I think if Dave is stupid enough to invite Strauss to his family cookout, he can damn well support us both if she fires us."

It was always such a joy to hear Aaron laugh the way he did at that.

***

By the time Spencer showed up, Hotch and Jack in tow, Emily was ready to hide in a closet somewhere. She'd met too many nieces and nephews to completely remember which of Dave's siblings they belonged to, and she didn't feel like she could just hang out with the team members, but she was constantly being reminded why she'd never enjoyed the embassy functions her mother had made her attend.

"You're doing fine," Hotch said as she greeted him and heaved an enthusiastic--and heavy--Jack into her arms. A moment later Jack saw Henry and squirmed out of her arms to run towards Henry and JJ.

"That obvious, huh?" she said ruefully.

"Not to anyone else, I'm sure, but Dave called to find out where the hell we were and to say that you didn't need anything else stressing you out, so we'd better haul ass over here." Hotch's lips quirked as he mimicked Dave.

Emily laughed. "Okay, that I can well believe."

Hotch put a hand on her shoulder. "You really are doing fine, Emily," he said softly. "Dave has never invited his family down here before. Not the whole family, not like this. He loves you, he's proud of you, and he wants to show you off."

Emily felt her throat tighten at the unexpected words, but she didn't miss the way Hotch's gaze was on Spencer during that speech. She reached out and squeezed Spencer's hand briefly, then tilted her head back towards the gathering.

"Come on," she said, smiling her gratitude at Hotch. "I think you know Dave's parents, right?"

***

It felt better than Aaron had remembered to be surrounded by the huge, loving Rossi family. He'd never spent a lot of time with Dave's family, but he appreciated the way they made everyone feel accepted. He could see one of Dave's nephews talking animatedly with Spencer, while two of Dave's brothers--the two who were in construction, he thought--were sitting with Morgan and Will.

Dave's sister and mother had been watching Emily with adoring eyes all afternoon, though Garcia and JJ seemed to be distracting them now. Knowing them, they were getting stories of Davey-in-diapers to break out when they were most needed.

"Is everything okay?" Emily had come up to Aaron's seat in one of the Adirondack chairs without his noticing.

He smiled at her. She looked radiant, if a bit tired. She might be uncomfortable in social functions, but she flourished in family settings like this. Dave had been good for her, and he thought Dave's family would be good for her too.

"Everything's fine," he said. "I'm glad we had good weather for your cookout."

She hummed and sank down into a chair, absently rubbing her back. "Me too. Man, I've been on my feet too long today." She leaned back and sighed. "Dave's family is lovely. I feel like I'm getting a whole family instead of just a husband."

Aaron chuckled. "That's because you are. Elena's delighted that you speak Italian, by the way. She's told me three times already that I should let you teach Jack."

Emily smiled. "I'll be happy to, of course. Dave and I want our kids to be bilingual at least. It's certainly come in handy for me."

They sat in silence for a while. Emily sipped at her icewater, her eyes slowly falling closed. Aaron stayed still so he wouldn't disturb her. After a while, though, she bolted upright. "Ugh," she said, and lurched out of the chair. "'Scuse me."

Aaron watched her hurry into the house. He frowned.

"Wow, I've never had quite that reaction on her before," Dave remarked, taking his fiancee's just-vacated chair.

"How long has she been throwing up?" Aaron asked.

"Shit, is she sick again?" Dave turned to look at the house, though Emily was already inside.

Aaron realized a moment too late that he probably shouldn't have said anything. Dave might not recognize morning sickness when he saw it, but Aaron had strong suspicion that's what this was. And of course if Dave knew, he would have said something about it, which meant Dave didn't know. Maybe Emily didn't even know for sure.

"I'll check on her," Aaron said, standing as Dave did. "You stay with your guests."

"They're my family. They can wait--"

"Dave, it's fine. I'll go." Aaron used his unit chief voice, knowing it was a dirty trick, but knowing it would work. Dave huffed, but he shrugged and went over to his mother and sister. A moment later Aaron heard an indignant exclamation and knew Dave was sufficiently distracted by JJ and Garcia.

He hurried inside and followed the sound of retching to the master bathroom. He waited a few minutes in the hallway until she was done. "Emily," he called softly.

She opened the door a minute later, her eyes a little teary. "I'm fine, really."

Aaron raised his eyebrows, smiling at her. "I know. Dave doesn't know yet, though, does he?"

She bit her lip. "I've been afraid to say anything. I just started throwing up two days ago, and he wasn't home until this morning. I was going to make an appointment tomorrow with the doctor."

Aaron hugged her briefly and then brushed her hair back out of her face. "Did you do a home test?"

She nodded, her face lighting up. "A couple of hours ago. I couldn't wait any more, and we've had a couple on hand since we started trying."

Aaron raised his eyebrows. "Tell him today."

"After the family goes home," Emily said. "I want to keep it to ourselves for a while. I'm thirty-nine, Hotch, and six weeks isn't that far along."

After a moment he nodded. "Okay. But tell him tonight."

She grinned at him. "Don't worry. I couldn't keep it a secret from Dave any longer."

Aaron chuckled. "Come on, let's get back to this new family of yours. I think Elena's telling stories on Dave that you won't want to miss." He paused. "Emily. Congratulations. You'll be a great mom."

***

Dave had been thinking about what Aaron said all afternoon. When he finally got rid of the last of his family, he cleaned up the food and started the dishwasher. Then, despite that it left him feeling slightly twitchy, he ignored the rest of the cleanup and went looking for his fiancee.

He found her dozing in his recliner, which was completely unlike Emily. Not that she didn't know how to relax, but she wasn't the sort of person who took naps, and she really wouldn't have left Dave to clean up by himself. She was a considerate and helpful person by nature.

She started awake when he came in. The room was dim, the late afternoon sun slanting in at a low angle from between cracked curtains. Emily put a hand up to the side of her head, blinking at him.

"I fell asleep, didn't I?" she asked.

Dave smiled and reached out. She let him take her hand and pull her to her feet, steadying her in his arms. "You've been throwing up all day," he murmured, brushing his lips against her temple. "And you don't usually take naps."

Emily's arms went around him automatically and she squeezed him tightly. "I don't know for sure," she said, pressing her face into the crook of his neck. "But I took a home pregnancy test earlier today. I was going to tell you as soon as everyone was gone."

A wave of shock went through him, followed quickly by a wave of pure terror. But even though the fear didn't really disappear, the joy that followed it overwhelmed him. He felt Emily go still in his arms, and he knew she would be doubting herself all over again, but it took him just a moment to collect himself enough to respond.

Finally he cleared his throat and tightened his arms, lifting her and kissing her hair. "God, you're amazing," he choked out. "That's--oh God, that's so great!" He wasn't sure if he sounded convincing or not, considering the tears in his eyes, but he meant it with every inch of his body.

Her arms tightened around him again and she buried her face against his skin for another moment, then pulled back to look into his face. "Really?" she whispered. "You're really okay with this?"

He pushed away the pang of hurt, knowing she just needed him to show her how much he wanted all of this, the whole package, Emily and everything she would bring to his life. Someday she'd realize he wasn't going anywhere, even if it took the rest of their lives. "Emily," he said softly, holding her gaze, "I'm more than okay with this. I have never in my life felt so much joy as I do today." He cupped her cheek, stroking his thumb against her skin. "And yes, I am terrified, and yes, that's part of the joy too."

He watched as a tremulous smile broke across her face and strengthened until it took over entirely. Emily Prentiss was always beautiful, but she was most beautiful when she smiled, and Dave loved that he could earn that smile.

"I'm terrified too," she admitted. She kissed him tenderly, then wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. "But I'm glad we're in this together."

Dave held her tightly. "Forever, babe," he whispered. "Forever."


End file.
